On May 29th, Dr. Raz Zimmt will discuss how Iran seeks to reassess its approach to its regional partners and proxies—specifically Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Assad regime in Syria—after having been significantly weakened over the last two years.
Thursday, May 29, 202510:00 AM - 11:00 AM (Pacific Time)Webinar
After registering, you will be emailed an RSVP confirmation. If you do not receive your email confirmation, please check your spam or junk mail folders.
Organized by the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies in collaboration with Tel Aviv University's Alliance Center for Iranian Studies. Co-sponsored by the UCLA Center for Middle East Development.
About the Talk
The regional developments in the Middle East since October 7—most notably the blows dealt by Israel to Hamas and Hezbollah, the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, and the repercussions of the Israeli strike on Iran in late October 2024—have weakened the pro-Iranian axis in the region and compelled Iran to reassess its approach to its regional partners and proxies. In his lecture, Dr. Zimmt will discuss the implications of these regional developments for Iran and the various options facing Tehran regarding its continued support for its allies in the region.
About the Speakers
Dr. Raz Zimmt is the director of the Iran and the Shiite Axis research program at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and a research fellow at the Alliance Center for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University. He is also the co-editor of the INSS journal, Strategic Assessment. He holds a master's degree and a Ph.D. in Middle Eastern history from Tel Aviv University. His Ph.D. dissertation focused on Iranian policy towards Nasserism and Arab radicalism between 1954 and 1967. He is the author of the book Iran From Within: State and Society in the Islamic Republic, published (in Hebrew) in 2022, and has published extensively on Iranian politics, society, and foreign policy. He has also regularly provided expert commentary to Israeli and international media. Dr. Zimmt is a veteran Iran watcher in the Israeli Defense Forces, where he served for more than two decades.
Dr. Dalia Dassa Kaye (moderator) is currently a senior fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations and director of its Initiative on Regional Security Architectures. A life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Dalia is an internationally recognized expert on geopolitics and Middle East policy. For fifteen years at the RAND Corporation, Dalia served as a senior political scientist and the director of the Center of Middle East Public Policy. She has received numerous awards and held previous positions at an array of research and public policy institutions, including as a Fulbright Schuman visiting scholar at Lund University, a fellow at the Wilson Center, an advisor at the Foreign Ministry of The Netherlands, an assistant professor of political science and international affairs at the George Washington University, a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill. She is the author of several dozen articles and policy reports, as well as three books, including most recently Enduring Hostility: The Making of America’s Iran Policy (Stanford University Press, forthcoming in 2025). Dalia holds her BA, MA, and PhD in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.
DISCLAIMER: The views or opinions of our guest speakers and the content of their presentations do not necessarily reflect the views of the UCLA Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies. Hosting speakers does not constitute an endorsement of the speaker's views or opinions.
Sponsor(s): Center for Middle East Development, Tel Aviv University's Alliance Center for Iranian Studies